Terminal Velocity
by thisvexesme
Summary: Eight years after the Fall of Beacon, Cinder's life just keeps on getting faster. And her old street-racing rival is back in town, eager to finally defeat her... ...if he can.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N RWBY and all the characters and settings within are the intellectual property of Rooster Teeth and the late, great Monty Oum. This is a work of fiction. Please always wear your seatbelt and follow the road laws.**

Chapter 1

Cinder was angry.

Granted, Cinder was always angry.

But today had been different. She had had a fight with her most recent boyfriend over his...faithfulness...and they had broken up. She had spent the morning crying, but now she was just angry.

And she was taking it out on her car.

 _Tsssshuuuuuuuu_

The car's waste-gate fluttered open as Cinder angrily shifted up, mashing the accelerator into the floorboards. Boost pressure was quick to return as the heavy Vacuan sports car hurled forward. With little regard for the speed limit, she effortlessly weaved in and out of the mid-day traffic, the car's complex four-wheel-steering system working overtime to keep the not-unsubstantial bulk in check.

She was approaching a group of cars ahead, and couldn't see an opening. Cinder braked lightly, blipping the throttle pedal with her heel as she clicked the transmission down into second. Tailgating the light blue van in front of her, she impatiently waited for an opening. When it appeared, the car's gas pedal was given a new home deep in the firewall. All four tires chirped aggressively as the white coupe weaved into the tight opening, and plowed forward.

Cinder smiled softly as she relished in the smooth power delivery of her favourite car. Cinder liked cars. Cars were her passion. And this white Vacuan coupe was her baby. In her youth, she had been a street-racer, slipping out at night and humiliating the local kids on the mountain pass with her white weapon of speed. No one could touch the mighty Hunter Terminal GT-S, its all-wheel-drive and twin-turbos made it the most effective way of separating boys from their egos. Cinder had never lost to anybody, although a certain quiet and surprisingly polite black-haired boy had come close. She would always remember how close that silver XR Coupe had stuck to her rear bumper...

...much the same way a certain _black_ XR Coupe was to her now, its flip-up headlights taunting her as it seamlessly followed her anger-fuelled drive through the city.

' _Alright, little man'_ she thought to herself ' _let's see if you can play with the big girls.'_ Cinder matted the accelerator.

The Terminal was a very clever car in its own right. Built in Vacuo some 20 years prior, it was blessed with banks of computers and sensors that could always keep it's tonne-and-a-half mass going around any corner at any speed. Speaking of speed, it also had that in spades. The two-and-a-half litre inline six under the bonnet was fed by two turbochargers, which worked in sequence to provide the wheels with over three hundred horsepower. The first turbo was small, creating boost enough to pull the car away. Then, when enough engine speed was achieved, the watermelon-sized secondary turbo kicked in to rocket the machine forward with relentless force. Cinder was currently enjoying this almost left-right hook power delivery as the speedometer climbed dangerously past the legal limit. Third gear, boost. Fourth gear, boost.

"What the hell?" Cinder wondered out loud as the black coupe stayed glued to her bumper, as if being towed by her. _'That's not possible'_ She said to her self. Cinder's Terminal could easily blitz two-hundred-fifty kilometres per hour, how was this little car keeping up?

Cinder had little time to sit and wonder as very suddenly she would be in the rear cargo area of a dark grey minivan. She slammed on the brakes, slowing down to tailgate the van. The road had recently switched to one lane, making it perilous for her to attempt an overtake. She also couldn't see past the van, as her car, and no doubt the one behind her as well, was right-hand-drive. _'Why couldn't they have exported these with left-hand-drive'_ she cursed to herself. Cinder dogged left and right to try and get a glimpse of traffic beyond the bumbling grey blob, and confident (or rather, blindly convinced) there was no oncoming cars, she dove into the oncoming lane and pushed the throttle.

There was nothing. No power. _What?_ Cinder looked down at the gear lever and realized that in her haste to not collide with the van, she had forgotten to shift down from fourth and all of her precious compressed power had been lost. Shooting a quick glance to her mirror, she realized that she couldn't lift off to change down as the relentless black XR would likely rear end her. She held the pedal down as the primary turbo whined its displeasure. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, the secondary turbo kicked in. And there was much boost.

For once, the space between the Terminal and the XR was increasing, as whoever was in the black coupe hadn't expected the sudden burst of power from the white car. Cinder smiled to herself as she watched the annoying black car become smaller in her mirror. She was approaching an intersection. The light was red. Cinder hadn't seen it yet, she was too busy gloating at her mirror. _Why was he stopping?_

She looked forward.

"Shit!" she cried, and with all her might she mashed the middle pedal into the floor with both feet. The car's ABS struggled hard against the enormous speed and weight of the machine, but it did come to a stop, right behind the line with mere millimetres to spare. She took a moment to compose herself, left hand gingerly putting the gear stick back into first position. The XR had slowly rolled up next to her, it's passenger side window rolling down. Cinder hit the button and her window dropped as well. She looked over, and the last person on Remnant she expected to see that day was smiling back at her.

"Ren?" she said, with a look of relief, concern, and excitement flashing across her face.

"Hey Cindy." He called back.

Chapter 2

"What are you doing here?" Cinder half-yelled over the noise from the two cars.

"I was in town visiting family, I saw your car go by, and I followed you. Might you be up for another round?" he replied, smiling joyfully. Cinder herself smiled, reminiscing on the times 8 years prior when the two of them stormed the mountain passes, desperately trying to beat the other. Cinder had always won, of course, she was always the better driver.

She smiled coyly at him. "Buy me a drink first, you cheeky boy?" she question, a sultry eyebrow raised.

Ren laughed. "Of course, Cindy. Follow me I know a place." The light went green, and Ren pulled away calmly. Cinder pulled in behind him as he led her through the city.

A few minutes later, they had parked in front of Winchester's House of Coffee, and were sitting on the patio. Ren smiled at the rabbit-eared faunus girl who placed the two coffees in front of them. Cinder was sure she recognized the girl, but couldn't quite remember from were. "Thank you, Vel. If you could tell your husband to ease up on the handshakes for when he inevitably comes out of his kitchen to see me, that would be lovely. My hand is still healing from the last time I visited you two." Ren said with a chuckle. Their server giggled at him, and responded with a hint of an accent "Of course, Renny, I'll make sure he's on his best behaviour. We wouldnt want your guys' date to be disturbed by his antics, would we?" She turned to Cinder, who blushed lightly. _A date? With Ren?_ Worst things had happened to her today, so she played along. "No we certainly wouldn't want any harm to come to _Renny's_ hands." she said as she threw a sultry glance towards the now-blushing man's face.

 _Velvet, of course, that was her name!_ Cinder said to herself in a moment of clarity. She had gone to school with the faunus girl, all of ten years ago. She remembered her being a wallflower, never really foraying past the comfort of her team. She was also bullied a lot, Cinder recalled. By an orange-haired boy with blue eyes. _Or were they more purple?_ She wondered to herself. What was his name again? Calvin?

"Afternoon, Cardin" Ren stood to greet the man who had arrived at they table, extending his hand tentatively. Cinder looked upon the large man with a shocked expression. "Mister Lie Freaking Ren" the orange-haired man said as he crushed Ren's hand within his own. "Won't you introduce me to your lovely lady, old friend?" he said, an honest and comforting smile falling upon his face.

"But of course!" the usually quiet man piped "This beautiful woman would be Miss Cinder Fall, an old friend of mine, and my number one rival on the streets." Cinder couldn't help but blush at Ren's sudden comment, hiding her smile with her hand. "She was the best racer in Mistral back in the day. The word 'Terminal' still strikes fear in the heart of any of the young drivers today." Ren turned his gaze to Cinder and met her eyes "They fear the Black Queen will one day return to collect their souls". Cinder couldn't help but laugh at hearing her old moniker used.

"Always a pleasure to meet a friend of Ren's" Cardin said as he bowed his head respectfully towards the champion driver. "But alas, I must return to my kitchen. Until next time, Ren." he said as he departed, smiling at the odd couple.

The smile had vanished from Cinder's face, replaced with a look of concern and confusion. "That was Cardin Winchester!" she shot at Ren. "Indeed it was" replied the black-haired man, calm as ever.

"But..." she paused, cocking her head slightly "he was her bully! He tormented her!" she whisper-yelled. Ren looked directly into her eyes, deadly serious "He also saved her life during the attacks on Beacon. He was a bully, but he could never stand those who were physically violent." Cinder paused for a minute or so, recounting the Fall of Beacon. It had been a deliberate terrorist attack that had resulted in severe civilian casualties. Cinder had fought during the Fall, and had helped push the terrorist cell out of the city and back into hiding. The memories still haunted her, and taking up racing was the only way she could repress them.

"Cardin's a good man at heart. Lots changed after the Fall, Cinder" Ren reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder. She briefly flinched at his touch, but quickly relaxed. She smiled up at him through the mess of black bangs that had fallen in front of her eyes. "I suppose you're right, Ren" she said, brushing her hair back behind her ear.

"I like your shirt. It's quite humorous" Ren said in his more usual way, pointing down at the white shirt adorning her torso. Cinder looked down and giggled. She had forgotten what she was even wearing today. "heh, thanks!" she responded, almost automatically "I actually got it at a car show, if you can believe it." Cinder was wearing a high-necked white t-shirt with the words 'I'm Missing A Car Show Right Now' written across the front, just above a little cartoon drawing of a bespectacled boy with his arms crossed and his mouth in a humorously large frown. "You know you've improved my day tenfold. I was having probably the worst morning in a long time. This..." she paused "...is a significant improvement"

"Would it be made even better with a real race?" Ren questioned, leaning forward and raising an eyebrow. Cinder leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms, grinning devilishly at him.

"Yes. I think it would."

Chapter 3

"I'm digging the new car, Ren" Cinder said as she looked over the black XR Coupe that sat before her. The two drivers had made it to the top of the mountain pass with no issue, and they were taking the time to ogle each other's cars. It had been eight years, after all. "same car, new paint and new engine" replied the quiet man. "I had to get away from the old rotary motor, it was costing me an arm and a leg in apex seals." She reminiced for a moment. _Ah, yes. Rotary motors._ Hunter made some fantastic cars over the years, the Terminal and the XR being likely the top two, and while the XR's rotary motor was brilliantly innovative and high-revving, it ate through apex seals like they were going out of style.

"What's she packing now?" Cinder asked, pointing to the car's carbon bonnet. Ren responded by removing the pins holding it down and effortlessly raising it. Cinder looked at the red cam cover in wonderment. Yet she couldn't identify it as it had no lettering or branding on it anywhere. Suddenly it dawned on her. "Is that a..." she trailed off. Ren looked at her with a sly smile. "Is that a what, Cindy?"

"Is that a Group A motor?" she questioned, looking at him with surpise and excitement. "Why yes it is, my dear girl" Ren said, spreading his arms and grinning victoriously. "That is in fact a Hunter Racing RRS touring car motor, complete with red cam cover and velocity stack intakes." he said, gesturing to the four chrome trumpets adorning the right side of the engine block. Cinder looked amazed. "Where did you get one of these? I would kill for a real racing engine!" she almost shouted. Ren looked at her, still grinning at her child-like amusement. "I know a guy who used to race professionally. Sold me his old test motor." Cinder could only look on, amazed.

"How much power?"

"380, give or take"

"Weight?"

"Just over one thousand kilos"

"Gear ratios? Redline? Spring rates?"

"Wouldn't you like to know."

Cinder pouted and turned her back in a mocking fashion "it's like you don't want me to win!" she exclaimed, accusingly.

"That's sort of the point of street racing, Cindy" Ren replied coyly.

The odd couple laughed together and leaned against the side of Cinder's car. She looked down at her shoes, smile fading quietly. Ren was quick to notice this, and piped up his concern. "Whats the matter, Cin? You're about to have a race, one that's long overdue, what could possibly make you frown?"

"There's a reason I stopped racing, Lie." Ren stiffened at the use of his first name. "The same reason I couldn't be a huntress, either."

She fumbled in her pocket for a moment before pulling out her scroll and opening up the image gallery. She pulled up an image of a young child, about eight years old, Ren reckoned. "And who would this be?" He questioned.

"My daughter, Amber" Cinder whispered. "Street racing became too dangerous. My opponents were getting better, their cars getting faster. And I kept getting more reckless. I was destined to crash, and I couldn't leave my newborn daughter alone without her mother."

"What about her father?" Ren questioned, before remembering her words from earlier "wait, you mentioned something about a breakup this morning?"

"Different guy. No, actually you knew her father..." Ren looked down at the picture again. Amber, true to her name had amber-coloured eyes that seemed almost to glow, much like her mother's. She also had long, and fairly messy blond hair. The realization hit Ren like a train. "You don't mean..."

"It was just after the Fall, we were scared and alone. We needed comfort from each other. It was a one-time thing that became my life-time thing, Ren" she looked apologetically at the black-haired man.

"I feel like he should know he has an eight-year old child, Cinder" Ren responded, temper rising within him. Cinder looked away, a sorrowful look crossing her face. "I can't. He left. Moved away to Atlas. Eight years ago. He became a hunter." Her voice breaking up a little with silent tears. Ren sighed, defeated, and put his arm around her shoulders. "I understand, it must be difficult." he paused "Woah, hang on a moment" he stepped away "where is your child now?" his voice rising in real concern.

Cinder looked at him with sad eyes, but upon meeting his frightened gaze, her face brightened and she laughed. "Oh Ren, you're being so dramatic! She's with her babysitter, who happens to be the most capable ginger robot i've ever had the pleasure of meeting!" Cinder looked genuinely pleased. Ren stared blankly for a moment, then dropped his furrowed brow into his hands.

"You don't mean..."

"Oh but I do."

"Not Penny"

"Yes Penny. She was engineered by Atlas Tech to be The friendliest most charming and helpful person in the world. And, if you recall, she was a champion fighter. No harm will be coming to my child, Ren"

"But she's so annoying"

"I think she's pleasant"

Ren looked at her, being unable to say anything else to the subject. "Alright" he conceded "So we still going to race this one last time?" he asked, gesturing to the cars and to the road. Cinder smiled villainously at him. "You bet you're ass we're gonna race. And i'm going to win" she said, walking over to her right door.

"Street rules?" Ren called, as he himself walked over to the driver's door of his car. "Sounds fair. Third honk?" Cinder called back. "You know it, girl."

The two rivals lined their cars up parallel on a makeshift starting line, and prepared for the race. Ren flipped his lights up, found first gear, and made the first honk.

 _Honk_

Cinder put her car's transmission into first gear, left foot down on the clutch. She pulled up on the car's parking brake and began feeding the accelerator pedal slowly to the floor.

 _Honk_

She watched anxiously as the revs slowly climbed, building boost as exhaust gasses were forced through the two turbines. Ren had no need to build boost, as his car's new four-cylinder breathed fresh air. He need only press the throttle and he would be gone instantly.

 _Honk_

And the race was on.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 4

 _Ten Years Ago_

The race was over, she had won. Cinder smirked to herself and she rolled calmly back into the parking lot at the base of the mountain. It had been an easy victory, some young kid in an Atlas AG GSi hatchback who knew nothing about racing had foolishly challenged her, The Black Queen, to a downhill run. The GSi was certainly a capable car in its own right, with a clever front differential and electronically-controlled spring dampers, and with the right upgrades could have easily wiped the floor with Cinder's mostly stock Terminal GT-S. At this moment, the only upgrade that Cinder thought the car needed was between the seat and the steering wheel.

"Bow down!" Cinder shouted as she stepped out of her white machine of justice "Before your Queen!" The crowd of eager spectators at the finish line cheered uproariously. The young kid sheepishly stepped out of his own car, a sombre look on his face. Whatever gloating that Cinder was planning on doing washed away when she saw him. He was only sixteen, barely two years younger than herself. _He's just a kid_ she thought to herself. _I can't be a dick to children._

"Hey, cheer up kid" she said apologetically, walking up to him. "You look like you just witnessed a funeral"

"I lost the race" he said, head down.

"Yeah, sure..." she said, leaning against his car with him, mind racing furiously to try to think of something that would comfort him "But you put up a good fight!" _No he hadn't_ "I'm sure you'll get me next time!" _No, he wouldn't._

His face brightened at this "You really think so?" He looked at her with bright, expecting eyes.

Cinder wanted to cringe, but resisted the urge "Sure!" she lied "All you have to do is keep practising, every night if you have to. Read a few books, ask the internet for tips." The boy pondered this for a moment. "You know, I've even got one for ya right now" she said, turning towards him.

"Slow in, fast out. Braking before the turn keeps your car balanced and moving in a straight line. Only gun it when the wheels are straight and pointed where you want to go." The advice was solid, a good technique that she had long-since abandoned due to its over-simplicity, but it would be good for a beginner like him.

Cinder extended her hand, and the boy shook it eagerly. "Thanks, Miss!" he cheered.

"Please..." she said, adopting a sly grin "...It's 'Your Majesty'"

It turns out she _could_ be a dick to children.

The boy quickly retreated into his car and drove off. Cinder turned around and walked back towards her crew, a look of victory adorning her face. Cinder's faction was a rag-tag group of kids from Haven Academy who all happened to have 4th period lunch together.

There was Mercury Black, a confident young man with dyed grey hair and violet eyes. Despite his severe handicap (he had lost the lower part of his legs in a car accident when he was four), he always had a quick and cheery one-liner. He served as the team mechanic, his always-dirty face and hands prominently and rather proudly displayed. There was also the green-haired Emerald Sustrai, Cinder's second in command and ace driver, with a passion for all things fast. She drove a shining green V6-engined Hunter RRS Coupe, which despite being front (wrong, in Cinder's opinion) wheel drive, was tuned to tackle the mountain pass as effortlessly as Cinder's own car.

Then there was the quiet one. Her name was Neo, and she was a year younger than the other three. She had made her way into the group by accident. One day after school, Cinder had caught the short pink-haired girl ogling her car, almost lost in the unassuming white coupe's lines. Cinder had questioned how the young girl could identify the very foreign Vacuan car, but had received no answer, as the timid girl had run off. She later found out that she was the adopted daughter of an auto parts dealer by the name of Roman, and couldn't speak because of an injury from her youth.

Speak of the devil...

"Cindy, sweetheart, you're pushing the car too hard" the ginger man chastised lightly "seriously, consider upgrading to a new set of coil-overs, or at the very minimum, a stiffer front sway bar. It will take all of the understeer away, I promise."

"A stiffer sway bar will promote oversteer, I need the car to be more neutral" Cinder shot back "Besides, I haven't lost a race yet. Why change anything?"

Neo, who sat perched atop the hood of Roman's little brown and pink minitruck, signed something at her father. _She's a bit cocky, isn't she?_

Cinder glared at the little girl, then at Roman, pointing an accusing finger at him. "What did she just say about me?"

Roman looked back at the black-haired queen, tentatively tugging at his collar, wanting nothing more to shrink up into his hat and avoid confrontation with the one they all called "Queen".

"She, uh..." he said, sweating a little "Says that you are right in your thinking" he answered quickly before signing something at his daughter. _She's taking sign-language classes, Neo, she'll soon be able to see that you are always an ass to her._ Neo looked offended. _I'm not an ass! I'm just being realistic!_

Roman sighed. _Try to be less realistic to_ _ **her,**_ he signed pointedly. Neo smiled and shrugged, Roman ruffling her pink hair lovingly.

"You almost done under there, Crutches?" Emerald asked of the legless man who was laying under her car, fiddling with something. She turned her head to the girl on the truck "And Neo, if you don't turn the music down, I will come over there and shove that boom-box where the sun don't shine" she yelled across the parking lot. Neo stuck out her tongue and flipped the dark-skinned girl off, receiving a cautionary glance from her father. Neo leaned back and turned down the blaring stereo perched upon the roof of the truck, sticking her tongue out again after Roman had turned his back.

"I'm just setting the rebound on your shocks to give a more responsive feel on this course." Mercury slid himself out from under the green car "And if you call me 'Crutches' again I can promise you that _you_ will be the one in need of them." Emerald gave him a dirty look as he pulled himself back under. "Seriously, where did you get these shocks? These things are like six-way adjustable, they must have cost a fortune! I thought only pro race teams could get these!" he called out, muffled by the car on his face.

"Roman sells auto parts, did you forget?" she nudged him with her foot "he also sells to racing teams, and he gave me a good deal." she responded honestly.

Cinder had long ago gotten bored of her team's ramblings and had plopped herself down in a lawn chair she had set up near the finish line. Two new cars had lined up to make an uphill run, a new-ish bright red Hunter RRS sedan squared off against a slightly vintage VHI Arrow hatchback. The flag dropped, and Cinder watched as the two wrong-wheel-drive cars struggled for grip, their clearly aftermarket turbos whistling loudly, disappeared up the pass. The sudden silence gave her a moment to look around and observe the sort of people who show up to watch these Friday-night events. It was mostly kids her age, excited by cars and racing, eager to have something to do every week.

Although, there was something not so familiar as well. A young-ish looking blond man sat perched atop the hood of a burgundy VHI Blaze-Charger SUV, with two tweenaged girls sitting either side of him, one as blond as he, the other a red-accented brunette. More interestingly than the three people on top of the truck, was the fact that it was wearing Kingdom of Vale plates.

"Hey Em, c'mere" she called at the green-haired girl. Emerald sauntered over to her, leaning up against the lamp post Cinder was sat beneath. "Who drives four days across the continent to come watch illegal street racing with their kids? This isn't exactly a family-friendly event." She questioned quietly at Emerald.

"I dunno, maybe they were just passing through and happen to hear about it at a coffee shop. Or perhaps he's a professor at a training academy in Patch and he's here for a teacher's conference." Cinder looked puzzled at the oddly specific answer.

"How would you ever come to that conclusion?" she asked, befuddled.

"I work part-time at the convention centre where it was being held, Cindy. Some of us have day jobs and contribute to society. His name was Professor Xiao Long, I beleive." she said, shooting the Black Queen a sly grin.

"I have a job!" Cinder replied defensively "I contribute!"

"Working at your step-mom's bakery hardly counts, Fire Flower. You didnt even have to look for a job. You were given one by force." Emerald retorted, crossing her arms.

"I don't think I like your attitude, Emmy" Cinder huffed, but quickly changed the subject. Her home situation was not one she enjoyed getting into. "Why haven't I met any worthy challengers recently? All I seem to get is rich punks with fancy new toys who cant seem to drive a car to save their lives."

Then, as if by magic, a tired-looking silver XR Coupe rolled into the lot. It's flip-up lights descending silently back into the body work as its rotary engine was too silenced. The two girls looked on astonished as a young boy, no older than them, stepped out of the faded car. The first thing the two girls noticed was his eyes. _Piercing_ magenta eyes. His dishevelled black hair sat lazily upon his head, and his gaze roamed around, almost distracted. He met the gaze of Cinder and beamed. Shutting his door, he strolled silently over to the girls, gracefully bowing to them as he arrived. "Good evening, my name is Lie Ren." He said as he rose. "My friends told me of a gorgeous black-haired girl who drives a white Terminal GT-S rules the pass around here. I can only assume he meant you, as you are far prettier than was described."

 _Goodness gracious, he's bold._ Cinder thought as she stood up from her chair. "You are certainly quite the charmer, Mister Ren. The name is Cinder Fall."

"Please, just call me Ren. There is no need for such formalities. I hale from Vacuo, and I have grown desperately tired of being addressed as 'Mister.'" The black-haired boy smiled warmly at the girl before him and extended his hand in a more traditional greeting. Cinder shook it lightly "you said you're from Vacuo? What might you be doing all the way over here in Mistral, Ren?" she questioned as she looked past him at his car, which indeed wore Vacuo plates.

"I am here to challenge the fastest racer in Mistral, and my sources have led me to you, Miss Fall.", he said, withdrawing his hand and bowing slightly. "I see the only way to improve my own skill is to challenge and defeat the fastest racers on each continent. I have been to Vacuo, Vale, Menagerie, and even Atlas. And now I am here. You stand as the final chapter in my street racing career. I would be honoured if today I could race you." Ren said, an anticipatory look upon his face.

Cinder took a moment to observe the man. He had come across the whole of Remnant, defeating driver after driver to end up here, in Mistral, on a Friday night, to challenge her, the Black Queen.

 _My, he was very bold indeed_ she thought.

"I accept your challenge."

"Excellent."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 5

 _Present Day_

Cinder's car exploded off the line, the four-wheel-drive system hauling its bulk forward, ahead of the black coupe. She knew she she had to press this grip advantage, as the much lighter and _much_ more powerful car Ren was driving would likely humiliate her once it gained usable traction for its undersized rear tires. Cinder kept her right foot planted deeply in the loud pedal, quickly and almost invisibly popping the clutch and ramming the gear lever into second. This sort of flat-shifting was necessary in the heavy white coupe as it kept the boost built up within the huge secondary turbo. And with great boost comes great responsibility.

Cinder had pulled ahead by no more than a car length and the first turn, a mild right-hander, was quickly approaching. Deftly turning the wheel to the right, she drove across Ren's nose and clipped the apex with her right side wheels, the black XR mirroring her actions. Careful to not lift off too quickly as it would no doubt rob her engine of boost pressure, she allowed the weight to shift forward onto the front tires, the nose tucking in to the tightening corner. She could feel her body being pressed against the left bolster of her seat in the all-too familiar way, steering wheel jittering under her strong grip.

Corner exit came, and she tossed the gearbox effortlessly into the next gear, bouncing the engine off the rev-limiter. Ren's car could clearly hold gears _much_ longer than hers could, and she wondered how far passed ten thousand rpm that tightly wound racing engine could go. She could actually hear his motor screaming over the boisterously loud sound of her own car.

Up next was the first of three chicanes on the course. A quick left-right dive that dropped nearly a metre, Cinder hand long ago memorized the correct line through this corner. _I wonder if Ren remembers, too s_ he thought, smiling to herself as she lay into the middle pedal, blipping the accelerator with her heel as she changed back down into second gear. Diving across the oncoming lane, the left tires of the white coupe skimmed across the grass on the left side of the road, the car dancing down onto its springs as she effortlessly pivoted the car back right again and lined up with the next straight. She could feel the pressure of the black coupe remain tucked seamlessly to her rear bumper, no doubt he too had remembered their favourite course.

The next three corners were long downhill sweepers, and the two cars quickly found their way into higher gears and well past two hundred twenty kilometres per hour. Cinder could feel every nuance of the road through her butt-dyno, and she revelled in the notion that it was precisely the same as it had been almost ten years ago.

She had little time to reminisce, however, as the next four turns were a series of overly tight hairpins that descended the road almost one hundred metres. She pressed her car to the right barrier, foot held hard down, and waited for the braking point.

First lamp post.

 _Wait for it..._

Second lamp post.

 _Wait for it..._

Faded concrete pillar.

 _Now!_

She jumped on the brake pedal and geared down, the heavy car bucking forward against the onslaught of speed. All the way down into first, Cinder turned the wheel to the left and cut across into the oncoming lane, four-wheel-steering system rotating the car almost unnaturally as she carved it carefully around the first hairpin. The Terminal exploded out of the corner, and she could hear Ren's car struggle for grip as its racing motor tried to punt the lightweight car into next week. The road descended, gravity pulling the two cars down the course like they were in free-fall. She dealt with the next three turns the same way she had the first, employing an out-in-out technique she had learned years before, clipping every apex with millimetrically perfect accuracy.

The road straightened up again, and Cinder let her twin turbos bring the pain. At this altitude, Ren's free-breathing four-cylinder was at a loss for power due simply to the lack of oxygen at his disposal. Cinder's car made up for this with forced induction, and when the road began to climb again, she was able to open a small gap between the two cars. It was a gap of only about ten metres, but it was good enough to be called an advantage between the two equally matched opponents.

She turned her car into the next right-hander, road descending again. Ren's car screamed to an unholy level as he fought valiantly to keep up. Cinder giggled to herself as she wondered if Ren too was a screamer. _No. Bad Cinder. Focus on racing._ She quickly chastised herself. Ren was certainly her close friend, but right now...

...he was her _enemy._

She pushed the white Terminal through the mountain pass with great force. Ren had somehow found a few extra horsepower in his little black coupe and had closed the gap back onto her rear bumper. The race was getting intense. And a little reckless, if they were honest. They weren't racing anymore. They were _battling._

Chapter 6

 _The Rise was coming._

The "rise" was a section of road that had sometime in the past had a new drainage pipe installed across it, but the construction company had accidentally installed a pipe that was too big. The road had simply been piled up over it, now resembling a long speed bump. It wasn't huge, you couldn't get stuck on it, but at the speed they were going, it was going to be like a jump.

The Rise, under normal race circumstances, was there to unsettle the suspension before the next corner, increasing most car's understeer tendencies and pushing them to the outside of the left sweeper. But the two over-powered cars that were barrelling down upon it were soon going to be airborne, and grip would be a fictional construct.

They hit The Rise.

Cinder's Terminal was in the air, all four tires floating helplessly above the ground, spinning with great fervour, as if searching for the road. In the half-second the car would be in the air, Cinder had enough time to think of the million things that could go wrong. She knew she was travelling too fast for the next corner, and her brakes couldn't stop her if she wasn't actually touching terra firma, and if she did brake when she landed, Ren's car would most certainly plow into hers and push her through the guardrail. She calculated the risks of keeping her foot in it.

It was a simple equation, the numerator was her car, and the denominator was the cliff. Her car, over the cliff. It was a quotient that equated to only pain. She had to brake and risk a collision with Ren, and she hoped his lighter car could stop faster than hers.

Both cars slammed into the pavement, sparks flying from the undercarriages as steel touched road. Cinder braked and wrenched the wheel left, knowing that when the suspension rebounded upward the grip would be lost again. She had in fact, very luckily, turned soon enough, and her heavy car was now turned sideways in a four-wheel drift. With the smallest of steering corrections, she booted the accelerator.

Ren had too realized his mistake almost too late as his car regained contact with the ground. The middle pedal of his car was inserted into the floor, and the ceramic brakes squealed loudly with disdain. He had been able to avoid hitting the white coupe, but now his car was going to lose traction too. Ren saw the white car in front of him begin to pivot, and he quickly down shifted, purposefully not hitting the gas pedal with his heel. It was an old rally driving technique he had learned back in Vacuo, one that favoured rear-wheel-drive cars. The mismatch in road and wheel speed would cause the car to slide sideways, initiating what he hoped would be a simple drift.

The two cars had successfully began drifting around the left-hand turn, scrubbing off just enough speed to avoid careening of the cliff. They bolted forward again, the two drivers shaking in their seats. They had never attacked the mountain with this much speed, even in their youth some ten years ago.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 7

 _Ten Years Ago_

The two teens stood in front of their cars at the base of the mountain, tired and out of breath. It had been a _seriously_ intense race, neither car giving up an inch of space. Cinder had maintained her initial lead, but the silver car had no trouble keeping up, sticking to her rear bumper like glue. Ren had never found a viable opening into which to slide his car and pass, as if she could predict his every movement and block all possible outcomes. Cinder looked up at Ren, through her sweat-drenched bangs, and said something that she likely had never said before.

"That was.." she paused, panting "...a good race." She brought her hand up and rather uncaringly slicked her black hair against her head, where it stuck. Ren looked at her, a mess of dirty clothes and exited tremors, and chuckled. He knew _exactly_ how she felt. Gross, but ecstatic. Neither had experienced a challenge so great before. And Ren had never enjoyed losing so much.

"Want a drink?" Ren nodded "C'mon..." Cinder said as she walked him over to Roman's truck, grabbing the drinks cooler and a second lawn chair from the bed. Setting up the second chair under the lamp post next to her first, she plopped down and handed Ren a can of People Like Grapes soda, cracking one open for herself. The two tired teens sat and drank their purple beverages in smiling silence for a few minutes, watching the other kids race.

The ground began to shake. Three hugely powerful cars approached, projector beam headlights turning the midnight dim into daylight. Cinder and Ren turned lazily towards the cacophony of muscle. _Highway Rats_ she thought, observing the over-powered cars. Their drivers stepped out.

The first, a golden-yellow vintage VHI Stormer big-block rumbled uproarously to a halt. A very well dressed man in a burgundy blazer stepped out, brushing his rather fabulous moustache with his gloved hand. The second man, a very muscular fellow with a well trimmed beared stepped out of what looked to be a _brand-new_ VHI Stormer sedan, its supercharged engine still whining away obnoxiously. The third man, a tall, lanky man in a white vest, _bounded_ out of a deep purple new-model Hunter Terminal GT-S, some eight or nine years newer than Cinder's own.

"Hazel, silence your beast." the first man said to the second, his arms crossed behind his back rather professionally.

"Sorry, Doctor. I hadn't realized you were opposed to the sound of horsepower." The second man retorted, reaching into the shiny red sedan and shutting its motor off.

"Hazel, Watts, silence!" the third man cursed, training his crazed yellow eyes upon his compatriots. "We are here for the queen, may I remind you!"

Cinder and Ren had turned fully sideways in their lawn chairs, entranced by the strange and rather loud exchange. Cinder whipped her head around to look at Ren. "Is he talking about me?" she whispered at him. Ren shrugged.

As if he had faunus-level enhanced hearing, the vest-wearing man was suddenly stood in front of Cinder's chair, leaning over her almost threateningly.

"Good evening, _madam_." The odd-looking person said, pushing his skinny braided pony-tail over his shoulder. "I am looking for the one called Queen. Might you be her?"

The very tired Cinder looked up at him, sitting up slightly, and extended a lazy hand for the man to shake. "That's me, how's your evening?" The black haired girl asked through messy bangs.

The scary-looking man turned his head and spit on the ground next to Cinder's chair. She froze, unable to process this sudden volatile action. She withdrew her hand, and stood up, eyes burning with anger. Ren was quick to stand next to her. "Who are you?" She managed to push out, restraining the tirade of expletives she so desperately wanted to unleash upon the man.

"Oh, I thought you'd never ask!" he said with a mocking accent "My name is Tyrian, and these.." he gestured to the two men flanking him "..are Alexander Hazel and Doctor Charles Watts. We are hear to investigate your little...playtime". The man calling himself Tyrian looked around at the parking lot full of fairly dated and mostly Vacuan sports cars, a digusted look adorning his face. "My, my, for one who calls herself the Queen, you certainly have a lot of old horses in your stable. Especially...that one." Tyrian pointed a long, slender finger at the Terminal parked off to the side.

 _Her_ Terminal.

"Certainly couldn't keep up with such fine stallions as ours, I'm afraid." He leaned in and cocked his head slightly to one side. Cinder was nearly a foot shorter than the thin man, but she refused to let him get to her. She stood steadfast, and leaned in closer to his face. She knew his kind. Highway racers. The kind of scum who gave a bad name to street-racing, going out at the early hours of the morning, racing at nearly triple the legal speed limit, running from the police, and being dangerous road hazards.

Cinder of course had to concede that what she did wasn't exactly legal either, but at least her crew raced on a mountain pass that nobody but them ever used, and they even had lookout cars positioned at the ends of the course, blocking the way with orange cones and warning signs. They were punks, sure. But they were _safe_ punks.

"You want me to deal with this guy?" Ren asked, stepping almost between the two opponents.

"No, no it's...fine..." Cinder trailed off, distracted by her own rage. "I'll handle it." She straightened up, composed herself, and looked brightly into the face she so desperately wanted to punch. "I accept your challenge, Mister Tyrian. If my choice of car bothers you so, I will choose another. I am fully capable of defeating you with any...horse...in my stable."

The thin man looked genuinely excited and nearly squealed with joy. "Oh yes, I have been looking forward to this" he said, eyes narrowing again. "Any handicap the Black Queen wishes to put upon herself is fine by me."

Cinder smiled at him and turned to Emerald, who had walked up behind her with Roman, Neo, and Mercury during the angry exchange. She quickly reached into the pocket of her brown jacket, procuring the key to her RRS coupe and placing them gently in Cinder's outstretched hand, honoured and a little shocked she had chosen her green car over any of the others at her disposal. Emerald was pretty sure Cinder could beat this cocky man while driving Roman's diesel truck, if she had to. But she was sure Cinder had her reasons.

Cinder was a smart girl. She knew all the intricacies, the facts, figures, and useless knowledge of every Hunter brand vehicle in existence. This new purple GT-S was no exception. She knew of it's short-ratio gearbox, lack of complicated four-wheel-steering system, twin-turbo V6, and its active suspension. She also knew that it was still a _road car,_ retaining its safety features, leather interior, and power-sucking air conditioning pump. She had been given the chance a while ago to drive one, as a close friend of hers had gotten one for her sixteenth birthday. While it was blisteringly fast in a straight line, five-hundred-horsepower being nothing to shake a stick at, its nearly two tonne mass was terribly difficult to wrangle around corners.

The Hunter RRS was the wrong choice in Cinder's opinion, but the car Emerald had given her was no ordinary RRS coupe. It was a racing car with licence plates.

It had taken nearly half an hour to get all the cars up to the top of the mountain, where the RRS and GT-S sat next to one another on their starting line. Cinder stood before her challenger, pulling on her bright red racing gloves.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" she questioned through her raven curtain of bangs "You know the price of losing. You are banished from my kingdom. You may never return."

"Oh I'm well aware, _Your Majesty."_ The yellow-eyed man said back in a harsh tone. "Let us...begin" he said, a wide and toothy grin coming to his mask-like face. The opponents climbed into their cars, Cinder settling into the well-bolstered racing seat of her borrowed RRS and fastening the five point harness over her chest. It had been a while since she had been in the boxy coupe, looking around at the stripped-out barren interior, admiring the placement of the huge tachometer placed atop the steering column. This car, thankfully, was left-hand-drive. Cinder pushed in the clutch and prodded the little black button labelled 'start'.

The car's three litre V6 barked into life, and she gave the accelerator a few test blips, the engine almost instantly winging to four grand. Cinder knew she would soon be appreciating the ten thousand rpm redline the huge tachometer promised. She glanced over at the man in the purple car, and saw he was smiling almost inhumanly wide at her, a concerning amount of eye contact being maintained. Cinder rolled her eyes at the strange man and pushed the tight gearbox into first gear. Emerald herself came to stand before the two cars, adopting a wide stance, her short skirt fluttering in the cool night breeze. She held a makeshift flag in her hands, and raised it above her head.

"Drivers ready?" she yelled, exciting two noisy responses from the powerful cars before her. Cinder looked at the flag, waiting for it to drop. _Odd,_ she thought. _Why does that flag have a lace border arou-_

 _oh. OH._

"Real mature, Em" she laughed out, looking once more at the "flag".

"Three!"

The cars shuddered in anticipation.

"Two!"

Cinder blipped the throttle again, allowing the engine to rev past seven.

"One!"

The two cars were violently shaking against the ground, straining at the reins.

"GO!" Emerald cried, whipping the offensive silk fabric into the ground. The two cars were gone like a light.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 8

Cinder's borrowed RRS coupe fought for grip for a moment, front tires squealing with displeasure. The super-soft compound quickly found grip and yanked the lightweight square-body coupe off the line, flip up headlights rising as the car squatted onto its haunches. The purple GT-S in the right lane had easily taken her on the launch, four-wheel-drive and five-hundred-horsepower pulling it away from the green car. They hit the first corner, a moderate right-hander, GT-S leading the RRS. The heavy purple car leaned over on its springs, understeering to the outside of the turn. Cinder quickly inserted her car into the space that had been opened up, using a touch of left-foot-braking to keep the nose of the wrong-wheel-drive car tucked in. She managed to get almost right up next to him...

The GT-S took off like a bullet. It had started gently raining, and the more powerful and grippy car had the clear advantage. Cinder knew the tall man was thinking the same thing as she chased him down the road towards the chicane. Rain was no excuse and despite the lack of ABS or traction nannies, Cinder would have no problem manoeuvring the bright green go-kart in this weather. The four round brake lights came on in front of her, much sooner than she was expecting. Knowing if she tried a pass here, she would get pinned to the left barrier of the chicane by the substantially heavier car. She kept her front bumper pressed to his rear, her oversized ceramic brakes hardly being stressed as the heavy car up front worked hard to lose speed.

Cinder followed her usual racing line, although she had slowed down more than normal because of the unskilled man before her. A smooth left followed by a smooth right lined up the green coupe with the exit, and the tight springs and stiff sway bar had kept the coupe composed and flat as she pulled up to the right side of the understeering GT-S. Flooring the yes pedal, she let the revs climb all the way up to the copious ten thousand rpm redline as the free-breathing V6 pulled the green RRS into the lead. Tyrian had neglected to change down at the chicane and his car was currently suffering horrible turbo lag. Cinder watched in her mirror as the nose of the purple supercar dived as its driver hunted for the right gear, jack-rabbiting as it pulled forward, shrinking from view.

Cinder was now leading, having gotten there with a simple overtake at the _second corner of the pass._ She wondered how she had managed to get wound up by this man who had absolutely no idea how to manage a corner, like they were a foreign language. Boost had finally returned to the now-losing GT-S and it was now rocketing towards her rear bumper as they smoothly drove down the next few sweeping turns. Cinder's car stayed dead flat through the corners, mechanical grip from the ultra-soft tires holding it seamlessly to the racing line. She could feel the much faster car bearing down on her as they approached the first of four hairpins. She pulled into the left lane, an unusual choice for any normal pair of racers, as it would require her to slow to almost a crawl to get around the left-hand hairpin. The purple car surged forward to pass her, but even he knew he had to brake _very_ soon. Cinder watched the right side of the road, waiting for her usual markers. First lamp post, second lamp post, polished concrete pillar.

 _Wait_

Cinder waited the extra half second before slamming on the brakes, the lightweight car trying to toss her through the windshield as the five point harness kept her firmly in her seat. Steering quickly right then wrenching the wheel to the left, Cinder yanked up on the parking brake and pivoted the car sideways around the tight hairpin. The large purple beast had once again understeered its way around a bend and was once again behind her. Racing down to the next hairpin, a right-hand one, she moved to hold the left lane and set up for a proper racing line. The GT-S pulled alongside her in the right lane and made a charge to pass. Cinder glanced over and saw that he was grinning furiously at her from his car, as if to taunt. Tyrian's eyes moved back forward and widened with fear as he realized the corner was approaching like a boxer's fist.

Cinder held her foot in it a moment longer as the heavy car shot backwards under it's brakes. Finally slowing, she watched the heavy car slide past her onto the gravel shoulder on the outer rim of the turn, its smaller brakes no match for its substantial weight. She deftly tucked the nose of the car into the turn and powered out, hearing the turbo car behind her fling gravel and dust as it fought its way back onto the road. The next two hairpins were executed in much the same fashion, the crazy highway racer having absolutely no idea where braking lines were, where bumps in the road were, or how a gearbox worked.

The next section of road climbed through the mountains again and Tyrian managed to pull the big purple GT-S up behind Cinder's little green coupe. She could feel the big car breathing down her neck, like a dragon. The RRS she had been given was no slouch, nearly four hundred horsepower fired its way through the front wheels. But it was no match for the big turbo'd purple coupe that seemed to be trying to push her up the hill.

 _Crunch._

Tyrian had purposefully bumped into the rear end of her car, causing her to lose momentary control, fighting against the alcantara-wrapped racing wheel. Cinder fought the urge to swear loudly, preferring instead to yank the car into the left lane, allowing the brutish man to overtake her. She sent a death glare towards the hateful machine as they approached the next corner, a very long sweeping left hand turn. Blipping down the gears into second, she followed the understeering car around the long corner, watching him slip centimetre by centimetre off the racing line until he was back on the right side of the road. She so desperately wanted to overtake him here, but knowing that the next bit of road led up to The Rise, she didn't want to risk being in front of the dangerous man over the jump.

Pushing the accelerator, she watched the heavy purple car leave ground, its driver clearly not expecting to spend any time that day floating. Not a moment later, her RRS left ground, sailing quickly after. Cinder had remembered to lift off and move to the left side of the road just before the makeshift ramp, her car slamming into the ground well behind where the GT-S had. The impact was like being hit by a bus. Mercury had tuned the car's precise suspension for minimum travel and flex, so the unforgiving shocks had sent all nine hundred kilos of force directly through Cinder's spine.

She watched as the leading car swerved left and right, fighting for grip as the left hand corner just after the landing soon approached. _Gee, what do you know, understeer_ Cinder thought as she watched the purple machine slide to the outside of the corner. Changing down into second, she fired the lithe green coupe into the opening Tyrian had left her and regained her lead.

She led the duo down through the next set of increasingly tight turns, and the racing suspension fitted to the RRS coupe was certainly beginning to show its worth, cutting through each corner like a scalpel. Sitting in her car, Cinder wondered why she had even bothered with this race. Sure, driving Emerald's race car was good fun, mountain pass racing was good fun, and winning was _definitely_ good fun. But there was no challenge against this man, he clearly couldn't keep up. Cinder tossed the car into the next bend, a long left hand curve. She was _bored._

 _CRUNCH_

He had hit her again! Tyrian had silently manoeuvred his car into the blind spot just behind the Cinder's left rear quarter panel, and struck her with the nose of his car. The RRS slipped to the outside of the turn as Cinder fought the lightweight car from spinning out at the sudden impact. She angrily watched as the brutal man slipped by on the inside, taking off up to the next turn. Cinder fumed and coaxed the little green car up after him, realizing there was now a lot of ground to make up. "You want to fight dirty, asshole? Let's fight dirty!" she said, flicking a small plastic switch on the centre console.

Tyrian looked in his mirror, expecting to see a crunched car sitting in the ditch. But he saw nothing. Just a black void. _Where had she gone?_ He wondered if she had fallen into the ravine. That would be bad. Of course it would mean he would win the race, and there would be no one to above him. _I have dethroned the Queen. Checkmate, you little bitch._ Of course, Tyrian hadn't realized that he wasn't the only one with dirty tricks.

Cinder stayed on the heels of the repulsive man's car, easily catching up through the corners. With the racing suspension that the RRS had been fitted with, she could feel every tiny bump in the road. It spoke to her, no, it _sang_ to her. A song she could have recited in her sleep. She knew this course so well many other drivers had told her they believed she could drive it blindfolded. And that was effectively what she was doing now.

In order to save weight, the RRS had been fitted with an undersized battery and a stripped down wiring system. It also featured a clever ignition box that only drew enough power for the spark plugs so as to not wear down the battery as it was driven. Mercury had fitted a bypass switch within the car that would shut off all electronic features of the car except for the ignition module and electric radiator fan, which once flipped sent maximum electricity to the car's spark plugs, boosting power. This was a useful tactic during the occasional circuit racing that Emerald did, as things like headlights, ABS, gauges, and monitoring systems were not strictly necessary on a closed course at noon. But it was midnight, on a mountain pass, with no artificial lights, except for the four red taillights of the vicious supercar in front of Cinder.

She trailed the Tyrian's car closely, leaving a purposeful gap of a few meters. She was aware that the man would grow wary of the lack of an opponent and slow down, maybe even screw up. She kept her eyes not on the car in front, but on the space illuminated by his headlights, predicting the changes in the roadway moments before she would herself be upon them. Up ahead lay a long sweeping right turn, where Cinder knew she had to make her move, as the road narrowed soon after and she would never get the chance to pass the dangerous amateur.

The road descended, and she shifted the car up into fifth, hopefully silencing her engine enough to allow her blacked-out unlit car to sneak past him. The brake lights of the GT-S lit up as the man slowed for the next turn, and Cinder silently squeezed her car into the right lane next to him. The big purple beast understeered mildly through the corner, and Tyrian still couldn't see his elusive opponent. Tucking her car in with a dab of left-foot braking, she silently began to overtake him.

Cinder flicked the bypass switch. The RRS's flip-up headlights rose to attention and beamed forward, Cinder mashing the car's transmission down into third. The soft tires dug into the road and pulled her forward, well into the lead. Tyrian had been surprised by her sudden appearance, and in his shocked state had forgotten to shift down, and watched mouth agape as the little car's motor screeched to almost Formula-car levels. Cinder, who was now _properly_ angry, set her sights on putting as much distance between the two cars as humanly possible.

Chapter 9

Ren had remained at the bottom of the pass, eagerly awaiting the two cars who were quickly approaching. He had told the others he wanted to see how the race finished, but he actually was afraid that the scary-looking fellow might try to be abusive if he lost. Or if he won. Ren shuddered at the thought. He sat upon the hood of his car, legs crossed and eyes closed. He could hear the approaching racers, their sounds very distinct as they tore down the mountain pass. Cinder's (or rather, Emerald's) car screaming like a banshee with no mufflers along its stainless-steel exhaust, and the lag-heavy and over-synthesized exhaust tone from the GT-S reverberated in his eardrums. they'd be around the last corner very soon.

Ren opened his eyes at the precise moment the victor's car came whipping around the final corner. Cinder had won, the loud race car shooting across the finish line. Ren was about to smile, when the rear tires locked up and Cinder pitched the car sideway, skidding to an overly aggressive stop. The large purple car came calmly around the last corner and stopped gently at the line. Cinder leaped from her car and slammed the door, plastic windows vibrating under the force. Ren stepped off of his perch and made to walk up beside her.

Tyrian gracefully stepped from his own car, and turned to look at the eighteen year old girl who was storming up to him. Her furious amber-coloured eyes bore down on him, looking almost as if they were glowing.

"Well, my _dear..."_ he said in a poisonous tone "I suppose I must concede defeat, as the rain has hampered my skill today." He looked back at Hazel and Watts, who stepped up next to the tall man, flanking him. "I suppose my slip up has let this childish bi-"

He was cut off by a sudden fist through his jaw.

"You!" Cinder shouted, sending a sharp left-hook into his gut.

"Psychotic!" A knee met his now bent-over face.

"Bastard!" She sent one last resounding punch to the chin, knocking the now-bleeding man onto the road. Cinder had always been above violence, she didn't think it suited her. But this man, no this, _animal_ had dared attack her, had dared try to run her off the road. Hazel made to step forward, but Ren placed his left hand upon the muscular man's broad chest, halting him mid-step with surprising force. Tyrian scrambled to his feet clutching his broken nose. "Why...you...little...!" he tried to push out with some form of aggression. The fire in Cinder's eyes quickly silenced him as she stood menacingly before him.

"Never...return..." she glared at him.

The three men retreated to their cars, leaving the scene in a cloud of tire smoke from Hazel's over-powered red sedan. They were gone as quickly as they had came.

Cinder's heart was racing. Like it never had before. She was _happy._


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 10

 _Present Day_

Her car was losing power. It had seen nearly three hundred thousand miles in her twelve years of ownership, almost all of them hard driving. But this was different. The engine was breaking up. The drivetrain was straining.

The Terminal was dying.

Braking for the next corner, Cinder could feel the middle pedal sinking further into the floor like jelly. She turned in, the heavy car rolling over on its springs more than it normally would, and she wondered if the front-end shocks had blown from the overly aggressive landing after The Rise. At corner exit, she booted the throttle and the rapidly decaying car surged forward.

Ren was having trouble too. There was a very concerning whine coming from the rear end, and the differential had begun responding irregularly. He figured (very accurately) that the car's still factory CV axles and differential had begun to wear out as they were not originally engineered for the high torque and high revving racing engine he had shoe-horned under the bonnet. His undersized power-steering pump had very clearly worn out already, and he was working his arms harder to wrangle the subsonic machine. The two cars were clearly never designed for their driver's skill and determination.

Cinder had finally noticed the _smell_. The very distinct scent of coolant and oil being burnt. Her heart was racing, and her whole body shook as she sent a tentative glance down to the gauge cluster. Everything was wrong.

Oil pressure was through the roof, water temperature was deep in the red, the check engine light was on, the 'Service 4WD' light was flashing rapidly, as was the boost warning light. Her car was about to explode. She knew if she let the temperature rise any higher she ran the risk of scorching the turbos and potentially bursting them, which would send bits of ceramic careening through the engine and would ensure a crash. The only upside Cinder could see was that the high oil pressure ensured that there was at least oil still _within_ the engine.

The right side of the transmission tunnel was like a coal furnace against her left foot. Something was very wrong with the car's front differential. Unbeknownst to her, it's gasket had blown out and spit all the fluid out onto the road, and the ring and pinion gears were mere moments from seizing. Or shattering. Neither would be good for her. Somewhere, a few kilometres back, all of the Terminal's electronic aids had ceased functioning, as the disastrously strenuous race had taken its toll on the twenty year old car. The traction control fuse had blown, as had the one for the four-wheel-steering system and the torque vectoring computers. The only saving grace was that the car's emergency centring motor had locked the rear wheels into a dead straight position. Cinder continued to push the dying car harder.

She was no longer racing down the pass. She was falling down the mountain. She had reached terminal velocity.

The next corner approached with horrifying speed, and Cinder mashed the brake pedal, heel-toe downshifting into second gear as the brakes screamed back at her. She turned the wheel to the left.

That was it. There was no traction. Her tires were shot, and she was understeering. The guardrail was approaching with great force. With no electronic assistance, the old white coupe was reacting like a classic Valean muscle car, lolling around like a broken mattress. The guardrail was now only a meter from her right door. She was going to hit it. Cinder, in one last measure of self-preservation, pushed the accelerator as far into the firewall as it would go, desperately hoping that the broken front end would pull her away from the impending crash.

She hit the rail.

Chapter 11

Cinder's skill with the complex all-wheel-drive system had proven its worth that day, as her last-second throttle decision had given the car enough forward movement to cause it to only scrape loudly against the metal barrier, pulling much of the car's pristine white paint from it's bodywork. She had seen over the edge and seen the crevice below. Some fifty metre drop into the jagged ravine. She had resisted the urge to cry for the tenth time that day.

 _Never look behind you._

A piece of advice Roman had given her so many years ago, suddenly rose into her thoughts. Something to do with your psyche, it would unfocus you. But she couldn't help it. She had to know if she was winning. Her whole body shaking, she looked in the mirror. _Ren was falling behind._

Her terrified expression lifted so slightly. The destruction of her car had been worth it. But as she moved her amber eyes back to the road in front of her, she couldn't help but see something that almost made her sick.

 _Amber eyes._

She tried to push the image out of her mind. If she lost focus, she would crash, likely much worse than she just had. She stared ahead, and pushed the old car down the road.

 _Amber. Eyes._

It was in her vision now, the image of the little blond girl who called her Mommy. She was going to lose that. But she couldn't let up.

 _Amber's Eyes!_

Her mind screamed at her. That was it. No more. She couldn't continue. Tears were streaming down her face. She let off the accelerator.

 _Tsssshuuuuuuuu_

The waste-gate burst open and relieved her of all her stress and fear. She was shaking violently, the thought of losing her daughter, no, her daughter losing _her_ as a result of her stupid ego. She pushed the brake and pulled the car onto the gravel shoulder. Her hands fumbled for both the door handle and the seatbelt latch at the same time, shaking as if she had lost of motor function of her extremities. She got out of the car.

No, Cinder _fell_ out of the car, a pale, shaking mess of tears. The car lurched forward and stalled as her foot came of the clutch. _Amber eyes amber eyes Amber's eyes Amber's eyes Mommy Mommy Mommy Mommy_ her mind screamed, as she crawled away from the white deathtrap. Ren had overtaken the stopped car and stood on his breaks, the parallelogram-shaped taillights of the XR casting an ominous red glow over the crying girl. Cinder collapsed.

Ren leaped from his car and rushed to her side, sliding the last few centimetres on his knees in the gravel. "Cinder, holy shit!" he cried at the sobbing mass that lay before him. He pulled the black-haired girl up to his chest in an embrace, and she was quick to latch on. "Amber...eyes..." she blubbered out through the stream of tears.

"Shhhhh, it will be okay." he assured her, stoking her sweat-dampened raven hair. "It's over. It's over. You won."

Chapter 12

It had been two hours since they had ended their race, and they were sitting in Ren's black coupe. A tow truck had come and collected the destroyed white Terminal a while ago, and the two had been left alone halfway up the pass. Cinder sat in the driver's seat, and Ren sat alongside her, gently stroking the soft pale hand she had placed in his grasp. She had stopped crying.

She spoke first.

"I feel sick" she said, almost silently.

"I understand" the quiet man responded.

"I could have died."

"As could I."

She looked at him incredulously, the fear still resting in her eyes. He met her gaze, magenta eyes meeting amber. He softened his face and put a hand on her cheek. "I pushed too hard. You wanted to win. We most certainly could have died." he said earnestly. "But it's over now. I'm here."

Cinder smiled and pushed her face gently against the hand he had placed on her cheek.

"What did you want to be when you grew up, Cindy?" Ren asked, slowly withdrawing his hand.

"A huntress" she responded, almost too quickly.

Ren looked her in the eye and frowned. He could see through her lie like it was plate glass. "I'm serious, Miss Fall. What did you want to be?"

Cinder sighed and looked away. All of her childish memories surfaced. She remembered playing with cars as a little girl, driving radio control cars, having posters of famous drivers on her bedroom walls. She remembered go-karting with her friends. She remembered her step-mother yelling at her for being to 'boyish'.

"A racing driver." she said, a look of regret settling upon her face.

"And what do you do right now? For work, I mean." Ren questioned, discreetly pulling out his scroll to send a text.

"I'm a combat instructor at Haven Academy. I teach kids how to fight monsters." she replied, looking away.

"Would you say you have good reflexes?" he asked, and swung his arm towards her head with blistering speed. She instinctively brought up her blocking arm and caught it, mere centimetres from her face. "I'll take that as a yes" replied Ren, watching as her face fell into a smile.

"Why are you asking me this?" she asked, wiping the one remaining tear from her eye.

"Have a read" the dark-haired boy said, handing her his scroll. Open on it was a messaging conversation between Ren and a man named Scarlet. She read on.

[Ren, 3:54pm] Hey Scar, I found you a new driver.

[Scarlet, 3:55pm] Oh yeah? wot's his name?

[Ren, 3:55pm] Her name is Cinder. Street racer from my youth

[Scarlet, 3:56pm] She any good? U know we're looking for a new driver for our 24h enduro team

[Ren, 3:57pm] The best

[Scarlet 3:57pm] Better than u?

[Ren, 3:58pm] Worlds better

There was a significant time difference between the last text and the following.

[Scarlet, 4:08pm] ok

[Scarlet, 4:09pm] Bring her in

Cinder looked up, shocked. Ren had mentioned to her that her friend ran a racing team in Vale, a man by the name of Scarlet David. The team was known as Specialist Speed System Nation, their cars bright yellow with the giant letters SSSN scrawled across the side. They were international champions, and the team owner had just offered her a tryout. She couldn't breathe.

This boy, who had been her rival for her whole life, her team member, and her ally, had just found her her dream job. She was so happy, she thought she could kiss him.

So she did.


End file.
